By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2025-03-12 13:10:34 | Updated at 2025-03-12 17:18:12
4 hours ago
A British backpacker could spend up to a month in an overcrowded US jail after border guards accused her of having the wrong visa, as her parents fear she has become caught up in President Trump's crackdown on immigration.
Rebecca Burke, 28, was on a 'once in a lifetime' solo travelling trip across the US and Canada when it turned into a nightmare after she was handcuffed while trying to cross the Canadian border on February 26.
The Brit has already spent two weeks behind bars at a detention centre in Tacoma, Washington, after Trump's war on criminal immigrants, who he claims include 'rapists and murderers'.
Now her parents fear she could spend up to a month in the detention centre, described as 'cold' and 'close to capacity', despite her desperation to leave the US and come home to the UK.
A guard teasingly told her she had been moved up the priority list at the centre, but Ms Burke has been told it could be another ten days before a decision is made.
She arrived in the US in January and spent two months travelling across the country, including in New York and Seattle, before attempting to cross the border into Canada.
She had already been staying with families in the US in return for carrying out household chores, and had a similar arrangement in Canada with a family awaiting her arrival in Vancouver.
However border force officials raised concerns her arrangement amounted to work, not tourism, and found her in violation of her visa.
Graphic artist Becky Burke (pictured) has been in an American detention centre for 14 days
The Brit has already spent two weeks behind bars at a detention centre in Tacoma, Washington, after Trump 's war on criminal immigrants, who he claims include 'rapists and murderers'
Ms Burke was immediately placed in handcuffs and taken to a Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing centre in Tacoma, Washington, where she has been wearing orange prison uniform and sleeping in a dormitory with more than 100 people.
Now, her campaigning father Paul Burke, 60, has pleaded for his daughter's release, telling the Times he and his wife Andrea are in 'a nightmare we can't wake up from'.
He said daughter Becky has been 'upset' in their daily phone calls but has now been told her case has moved up the priority list to the media and diplomatic attention it is receiving.
'If you're going to put her on top of the priority list, why isn't she on a plane tomorrow?', he asked, continuing: 'She's been classed as an illegal alien despite being a British tourist who wants to go home. She doesn't want to stay there.'
Speaking of a call he made to her on Monday, Mr Burke said: 'She was a little bit more upset than normal. 'But it was almost like she was slightly relieved that the ICE officer had said she is going up the priority list.
'There were almost happy tears, like a release because she's been trapped in this horrendous situation.'
Appearing on Good Morning Britain this morning, Mr Burke added: 'We really just want to get her home, this is a paperwork mix-up and we can't believe the conditions she's being held in. It's a proper prison environment.
'Initially we were very concerned that she was doing a solo trip as a young woman, but when she told us it was to the USA and Canada we thought it was probably the safest two countries for a British person to do solo travelling.
Becky's parents, Andrea and Paul Burke (pictured) appeared on Good Morning Britain today pleading for their daughter's release
Paul, Becky's father, said he and his wife 'can't believe' the conditions Becky is being held in at the Tacoma detention centre
'Becky has told us that she was told the detention centre is not a jail but the conditions are the exact definition of a jail - she had all of her possessions confiscated, she's had to swap her own clothes for a prison jumpsuit.
'She's a vegan so she's being given rice, potatoes and mushy beans everyday for the last 14 days.
'We spoke to her yesterday and she said she's had to see the medic because she's got digestive problems. I think most people would have digestive problems after two weeks on cold rice and potatoes.'
Graphic artist Becky had spent a 'couple of months' in the US before trying to cross the Canadian border, where she was told to refill her visa forms because the one she was carrying was 'wrong.'
'Becky's such a sweet, beautiful, unassuming girl who wouldn't say boo to a goose,' her father said.
'She flew from Britain into New York in January - before the Trump administration took over - for the holiday of a lifetime.
'She travelled over to the west coast, a stayed for a fortnight with a family on Portland, Oregon, then in some hostels, a staying on people's sofas, then with another family in Seattle, up by the Canadian border.
'Near the end of February she was crossing over into Canada by land, with a family in Vancouver waiting at the bus station for her to arrive. She was looking forward to visiting a national park.
'But when she got to Canadian side, they suddenly said this arrangement of staying with a family in return for chores sounded like work, her tourist visa wasn't enough, and she should do the paperwork again.
Becky remains stuck behind bars 5,000 miles from home, surviving on a diet of cold rice, potatoes and mushy beans
Prior to her detainment, Becky had posted a series of photos and sketches from her travels across North America
In her last sketch posted during her travels, Becky wrote: 'One part of travelling I love is seeing glimpses of other lives'
Canadian and American flags fly on the Canadian side of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, on March 8, 2025
'And when she went back to the American side - where she still had a month on her tourist visa - US Immigration and Customs Enforcement told her 'We're not letting you in here either', and detained her as an illegal alien.'
Prior to her detention, Ms Burke had posted a series of photographs and sketches from her travels before being thrown behind bars. In one sketch, she wrote: 'One part of travelling I love is seeing glimpses of other people's lives.'
The sketch includes a kettle, a pile of books, a candle and a to-do list.
Ms Burke, from Monmouthshire, Wales, posted reels of herself ice-skating in Manhattan's Central Park, running across a beach and trekking through a pine forest in a reel posted February 6.
Her family are being supported by local Labour MP Catherine Fookes, who has raised it with Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty, and Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
A spokesman for Ms Fookes said she is 'deeply concerned' for her constituent's welfare, with the 28-year-old reportedly being restricted to one of hour of exercise a day, a 'limited diet' and 'limited communication' via a prison iPad. On one occasion, Becky was not provided with food rations until 1am.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have indicated that Becky is 'likely to be deported,' according to the spokesman, though this is yet to be confirmed.
Becky's parents had requested that she be allowed to voluntarily depart the US to return home, with Mr Burke now hoping new UK ambassador to America Peter Mandelson can step in to save her.
MailOnline have contacted ICE and the US Customs and Border Protection for comment.
